Shepherding Ideas Into Action

Welcome to The Dean’s List! The Dean’s List will profile up-and-comers in Memphis who are certain to be the next group of leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and faith communities. The Dean’s List is curated by Kevin Dean.

At first glance, you’ll notice that Kelechi Ordu is pure muscle. As a Crossfit instructor at The Box, Kelechi gets to flex those muscles three to four times per week as a Level 1 Trainer. A former collegiate football player for Tennessee Tech, Kelechi, 28, graduated with a degree in Exercise Science in 2011, which has been an ongoing passion for most of his life.

Yet whipping people into shape isn’t Kelechi’s only strength. When Kelechi isn’t teaching Crossfit, he’s focused on his other calling in life, working with youth in North Memphis though STREETS Ministries at their Graham Heights location. Kelechi was hired onto the staff in 2011 after a brief summer job, working his way up the ranks to become the Site Director in 2014. At the center, Kelechi oversees the many programs that serve hundreds of Memphis youth every year. STREETS is a safe place for kids after school where they have the opportunity to get help with homework, enroll in a tutoring program, work on computers, or just shoot some hoops on the basketball court.

A native of Atlanta, GA and born to Nigerian parents, Kelechi grew up in the church. Now a member of Downtown Church with his wife, Brittany, and their two children, Chioma and Naomi, he is led by his faith to be a mentor and an inspiration to youth in the North Memphis neighborhood, many of whom live in economically disadvantaged homes. STREETS is part of a larger movement in Memphis to mitigate the lack of access for youth in lower income neighborhoods. “Some of the things that many of our kids face are challenges along the lines of illiteracy, low ACT scores, and lack of transportation to help provide them access to other resources around the city,” he says. “There are so many organizations that are doing great work in this city and I am glad to serve alongside one of them. I hope to be in this city for a while and to continue to witness change and hope in the lives of our communities.”

We chose Kelechi for his amazing work with opportunity youth through his work at STREETS and his commitment to inspiring Memphis’ next generation of leaders.

If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Consistent, determined, and a life long learner

What’s your favorite part about living in Memphis?

Our community! My wife and I do not have much family in Memphis, so raising our two little girls away from all of your immediate family can be a struggle. And just being in a city that we are not from and had no real ties prior to coming is a challenge. But our community of friends and co-workers is one of the reasons that I love being here in Memphis so much. It is a humbling and encouraging feeling to know that many of our family are not here but we have so much support, love, and encouragement from our community of friends here in Memphis. To me this is what makes Memphis feel like home for my family and I, and part of the reason why we love living here.

What led you to work at Streets Ministries?

My wife initially moved to Memphis to go through the Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR) and so we knew that this being a four year commitment we were going to get settled down in Memphis. I knew that I wanted to work in some form of ministry coming out of college and I was connected to a couple really awesome ones around the city and STREETS was one of them. Once I met with Reggie Davis (STREETS executive director) and heard of their mission I fell in love with this organization. As I transitioned into moving to Memphis I eventually came on staff and I have enjoyed the past 5 years being with STREETS.

Welcome to The Dean’s List! The Dean’s List will profile up-and-comers in Memphis who are certain to be the next group of leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and faith communities. The Dean’s List is curated by Kevin Dean.

Though only 42, Adriane has had a varied career in academia, nonprofits, and foundations that revolves around her passion for equity in education. The South Memphis native left Memphis as a young girl, attending boarding school in the Northeast before attending college at Wellesley. A few years later, she earned her Ph.D. in education policy studies. She worked in education in Washington, DC. before joining the staff at West Virginia University. All the while, Adriane was watching the changes and challenges of Memphis from afar.

“I was at a crossroads. It was clear that I was not cut out for academia, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to return to D.C. to play the federal policy games,” she says. “At the same time, I was following the merger process in the news and was deeply disturbed by discussions that could have been taking place in 1954 or 1973.”

She made the surprising decision to return to Memphis to immerse herself in the difficult discussions taking place in Memphis involving race, gender, equity, and education. Today, she’s helping to shape policy discussions, serving on the board of Girls, Inc., and has earned a reputation for being an unapologetic force in education and social change. In the small amount of free time she has, she blogs at her site, JustAdriane, where, among other things, she writes letters to Hillary Clinton about women’s issues.

Adriane is an inspiring example of a native Memphis returning to her roots to make sure Memphis is an equitable, educated, and growing city. We picked Adriane Johnson-Williams for her passion for change and her commitment to social justice and civil rights in Memphis.

I assume you didn’t always aspire to be in education policy. Did you have other aspirations?

I once wanted to be a French professor specializing in post-colonial literature. I also wanted to be a Broadway performer.

If you could describe your feelings about Memphis in three words, what would they be?

Home, trauma, and promise

You’ve become known in Memphis as a change agent for educational institutions. Why is education such a critical issue for you?

It’s deeply personal. I don’t believe education is the solution the way many people do. But I know it opens doors. Well before it opens doors, it shapes people and communities. The level and type of education we provide is an indication of what we as a society value. It communicates what is expected of us. When I was a professor, I taught that education has 3 purposes: social, political, and economic. The social purpose of education is to shape us into what our society thinks we should be. The political purpose is to prepare to engage in our democratic-republic. The third is to prepare us to participate in our economic system. If you think about education this way and then reflect on public schooling in Memphis, you see a place that thinks of many of its children and future prisoners, who cannot and should not vote, and who should occupy the margins of our economic system if they participate formally at all. The adults in our community are the result of our investment in education. I want us to want something different and work toward that.

Much of your career has been devoted to tackling issues of institutional racism’s impact on public education. What do you see as important design flaws in education that impacts children of color?

We assume that the definition of kindergarten readiness is somehow transferred to mothers during the gestational process, and we then penalize children and judge their parents when children show up “not Kindergarten ready”.

We fail to see children as whole people with parents who are whole people and design schooling to address only one—at most 2—aspects of who children are.

Memphis has one of the most effective school-to-prison pipelines in the nation. All of our systems are complicit. The Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriffs, the Juvenile Court, especially the Shelby County District Attorney, who seems to be on a mission to destroy black lives, are engineered to imprison and control brown bodies. And no type of public school—SCS, ASD, charter, municipalities—is blameless in cooperating.

Name three people in Memphis that you think will help change this city for the better.

Melissa Perry, Lead Information Manager at Seeding Success, is unique in the nation. The work she is doing to help us use data effectively and ethically in out-of-school time spaces puts this city at the forefront. I hope we are smart enough to keep her happy and take advantage of what she has to offer.

Terri Lee-Johnson of Zoleka Birth Services and Birth Strides is shining a light on maternal health and the role of lay women, doulas, in reducing infant mortality and promoting the well-being of mothers and children. I am convinced her approach to community-based supports gets us back to the basics of that village it takes to raise a child. Sometimes the solutions we seek are already present, but we have to be willing to challenge our own mental models and let the work happen.

Tracy Hall, President of Southwest Tennessee Community College, holds one of the most important positions for the future of this community. I don’t know her, but I have heard her talk about what she is trying to do here. Her success would be transformative for this city. I hope she is receiving all the support she needs to get the job done.

How do you characterize your current work?

Working with local nonprofits to help them better pursue improved outcomes for children and families living in poverty and to hold themselves and each other accountable for quality work.

What’s the one Memphis restaurant you couldn’t live without?

Well, I can cook, so I can definitely live without a restaurant. But I absolutely LOVE Bounty. The food is great. The service is amazing, and family style just feels right.

Who has the best dessert in Memphis?

When I lived in D.C., I had a ready answer for that question, but I don’t have one for Memphis. The Cheesecake Corner is fabulous, but Michael Patrick at Rizzo’s can really show off when it comes to desserts. Then, of course, there is that piece of chocolate Nutella heaven at Bounty. I can’t choose.

What makes Memphis different from other cities?

As much as I have heard the opposite recently with the Memphis Massacre anniversary, Memphis struggles to remember and recognize the long-term effects of our deeply white supremacist history. It feels like we’re on the cusp of something great, and I am beginning to hear the sounds of remembrance and restoration, but there is a resistance to our truth. I imagine it is fear of retribution because we are a retributive community. We believe in punishment. Perhaps it is a fear of the loss of power and privilege. While these things are true in other cities, especially Southern cities, the degree to which we’ve adopted niceness has shackled our abilities to speak some harsh truths and challenge each other to do and be better.

What area of town is your favorite and why?

I like Midtown. Shocking, I know. I like porches and sidewalks. I like the progression from public to semi-public to semi-private to private space. I like impromptu wine with my neighbors and the option to walk to Overton Square or Cooper Young. It feels like what I’ve come to know as a city.

What can Memphians do to make a difference in our community?

Be honest. Acknowledge systems at work and stop focusing on individuals. Stop judging. Start seeing people as whole people with whole complex lives. Ask questions instead of assuming we know the answers. Ask more questions. Talk to children. Listen to what they say. Act in ways the promote justice.

We will be an amazing and prosperous city when we see every human being in our boundaries as valuable and a contributor. We will take a leap forward when we admit that we celebrate and over-compensate mediocrity and repress true potential. We will be unstoppable when those in power acknowledge their limits, choose to learn, or choose to pass the baton to the next generation.

What is one thing you’re most excited about for Memphis?

I am excited the silos are beginning to crack. I am thrilled that we are beginning to recognize that we are interdependent. I see little pieces of evidence in unexpected corners even in the face of continuing injustice.

Welcome to The Dean’s List! The Dean’s List will profile up-and-comers in Memphis who are certain to be the next group of leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and faith communities. The Dean’s List is curated by Kevin Dean.

Kong Wee Pang is Malaysia’s loss, Memphis’ gain, bringing international designs to locations all over the city. A Senior Digital Designer at Archer Malmo as well as the owner of TaroPop, a design firm she co-founded with her husband, Kong Wee is responsible for many iconic works of public art in Memphis, including the new duck crosswalks on Riverside Drive. Her impact on the Memphis landscape has been important, as she’s drawn from various international influences while remaining true to the Memphis culture, from the amazing, shimmering installation on the side of Local in Overton Square to the Project Green Fork Recycle Bin.

Kong Wee’s transition to American culture wasn’t always easy. “It has been difficult at times to immerse myself into the western culture,” she admits. “It is not easy to come out of your comfort zone, and it takes time. It has been so rewarding to be able to bridge the two cultures together, and even now I am still learning.” From learning the English language (her sixth language!) to adjusting to the western aesthetic, Kong Wee has overcome the culture shock of moving to the American South after her undergraduate work in Singapore. Kong Wee has embraced the changes and is inspired by the contrasts between her life in the United States and elsewhere, mixing Eastern and Western design concepts. Her artwork is like having a “visual conversation” between the two cultures. She’s even managed to blend her Malaysian sensibilities with her husband’s New Orleans cuisine, calling it “Malajun” food.

Kong Wee holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and a Masters degree from Memphis College of Art. Her work has been featured in solo and group shows in Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Berlin, Atlanta, Memphis, San Francisco, Southeast Asia, and New York City.

We chose Kong Wee because of her dedication to bringing inspired artwork to places all over Memphis. She’s literally changing Memphis one design at a time.

If you could describe your feelings about Memphis in three words, what would they be?

“Flows from heart.” Memphis water appears in my dreams, whether it was calm or rough,
like the saying “water always finds a way.” This certainly reflects the way I feel about living in this city.

You’re known for your creative public art displays. How do you hope the work impacts and inspires the city of Memphis?

I am hoping the public art can give viewer a visual therapy sensation and hopefully helps more underdeveloped places to improve the urban landscape from downtown to midtown.

I believe it can literally help brighten city’s future. I want to attract more people to the city as tourists or residents. I love seeing people take selfies in front of the public artworks and share with friends. It can make looking for the murals a sort of scavenger hunt.

If you could have dinner with three artists, living or dead, who would you choose?

Yoyoi Kusama = LivingCai Guo-Qiang = LivingSaul Steinberg = Deceased

What’s the one Memphis restaurant you couldn’t live without?

I love so many different kinds of cuisine that it is hard to focus on only just one. Here is my list!

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is my favorite museum right now. As much as I often visit to see the wonderful exhibitions, I sometimes just need to take a walk through the gardens and get some inspiration from nature. There is a great new cafe that opened inside of the museum, so the Dixon is my hangout right now.

On any given Friday night, where would we most likely spot you?

Porcellino’s, Ecco, and Second Line are the spots I prefer to visit the most. I love hanging out with friends in these three places. I always feel really relaxed, and the food is always served really quickly and good.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen in Memphis?

The strangest thing for me was Hurricane Elvis in 2003. Seeing so many huge downed trees and so much of the city without power was pretty surreal.

What’s the biggest issue facing Memphis, and how do we solve it?

I want to see Memphis grow without losing any of its local culture. Urban revitalization should target concentrated areas of blight, poverty, unemployment, and crime and improve the conditions by bringing in opportunities and creating mixed-income communities. I would like to see equitable revitalization instead of gentrification.

What can Memphians do to help embrace creativity and develop a community embracing the arts?

Support local artists and makers. If you are excited about an art show you are looking forward to seeing or a festival coming up, then remember to spread the word. Your excitement can be contagious!

What is one thing you’re most excited about for Memphis?

I am also really looking forward to seeing the Crosstown Concourse open and Crosstown Arts move into the building. I have spent some time living in Singapore, so I love the concept of the vertical urban village. I think it is so exciting to see a development at this scale that has the creative community so involved.

I’m really excited to be involved with Made By. They correctly believe that makers, artists and micro-manufacturers are vital to our city’s identity and must be respected, celebrated, and cultivated. They are working hard to foster an inclusive creative community that will help promote and build our city’s creative class.

Welcome to The Dean’s List! The Dean’s List will profile up-and-comers in Memphis who are certain to be the next group of leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and faith communities. The Dean’s List is curated by Kevin Dean.

Chaka Conway believes in getting a head start in developing the leadership of tomorrow’s Memphis. Currently serving as a development officer at BRIDGES, a youth development organization that trains young people in grades 6-12 to appreciate diversity and strengthen their leadership skills to improve the community, Chaka is able to watch young Memphians blossom through the Bridge Builders program.

“I love Memphis and am passionate about community transformation,” she says. As a native Memphis, she has an vested interest in ensuring that the future is bright for the city. Chaka is a proud John P. Freeman and Whitehaven High alum who decided to stay in Memphis for college. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Memphis. Now married with two children, Chaka, 38, has been able to work her way up the ladder at BRIDGES, moving from the programmatic side of the organization to the fundraising side, meeting and promoting past and future graduates of the program.

We chose Chaka Conway for the Dean’s List because we believe this homegrown Memphian will continue to build better leaders for our city for years to come.

What three words would your friends use to describe you?

Genuine, Compassionate, Approachable

Why do you choose Memphis over another city?

It’s my home. I was born and raised in Memphis. I‘ve briefly lived in other cities but nowhere else feels like home. I think maybe because my support system is here – my family and friends.

Name three people in Memphis who you would consider to be mentors.

Linda Williams, President/CEO -Rise Foundation, Inc.

Linda McNeil, Sr. Account Manager – Gaskill Strategies

Susanne Landau, Grant Writer – BRIDGES

You meet some of the best and brightest young people in Memphis. What has been your favorite moment working at Bridges?Continue Reading …

Welcome to The Dean’s List! The Dean’s List will profile up-and-comers in Memphis who are certain to be the next group of leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, government, and faith communities. The Dean’s List is curated by Kevin Dean.

Tonya Dyson has shared the stage with artists like Justin Timberlake and Stevie Wonder, but you might not expect that a quiet, shy woman could be such an influential power player in the Memphis music scene. “People expect me to be an extrovert, but it’s a role I’ve gradually gotten better at playing,” she says. As a singer/songwriter, Tonya is preparing for the debut release of part one of the anticipated “Finding My Way” series.

Dyson, 38, is well-known for being an essential part of re-igniting the spirit of Stax and Hi Records by sharing her passion for music with others through her brainchild, neosoulville.com and live show production. Tonya is also cultivating that same love of music in younger minds through the Memphis Music Initiative where she teaches music appreciation at two schools.

With 13 years in music promotion and event marketing, Tonya has been a driving force in the Memphis hip hop/soul scene by producing shows featuring Chrisette Michelle, KRS-One, Dead Prez, Kindred the Family Soul, Corinne Bailey Rae, Robert Glasper, Foreign Exchange, Bilal, Floetry and several others. Most notably, Tonya is known for “The Word,” Memphis’ longest running open mic that has been featured on Vh1 & The Grio. She also launched the Soulsville Music Festival two years ago.

We chose Tonya for her important role in ensuring that the spirit of Memphis music lives on in our community!

First off, tell us a great story about your life as a musician in Memphis!

I met Issac Hayes my first few years in Memphis, and he told me that he hated the perfume I had on. I was angered and crushed. I saw him again and brought it up, but he still didn’t apologize. He just said that he noticed that I was wasn’t wearing it anymore and paused while looking at me. It was almost like he was implying that he did me a favor! That was so funny, and I couldn’t do anything but choose to let him have that one and walk away.

What’s the best part about living in Memphis?

I love Memphis because you can hear soul music playing everywhere! I really love that about living here. This is the only place in the world where you can hear Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” while waiting in line at the bank, shopping in Kroger, catching a flight, parking your car. I haven’t been everywhere but I’ve been alot of places and that’s truly unique to Memphis.

What is Neosoulville and why did you create it?

Neosoulville is like a one stop shop for all things soulful in Memphis, and it came from my senior capstone project during my undergrad years at LeMoyne-Owen College. On the web, it exists as a way for people to find out about the “soul culture” of Memphis and beyond. What is soul culture, you might ask? Its the entire way life of life built around soul music that includes other music genres like hip hop, jazz, reggae, and poetry along with visual & literary art, fashion, cuisine, travel, and health (mental, spiritual, physical). On the ground, we help to create events that cater to the aforementioned culture.